Priceless To Two
by MadlySaneCatLady
Summary: M/M Romance - Nygmobblepot After the election, Oswald ponders just what Ed was trying to say with his little love riddle. Also, Ed's back at it again with the penguin facts.


Love.

What a beautiful thing. What a beautiful word. What a beautiful feeling. What a most beautiful riddle Ed had devised for him. Oswald looked out the window into the darkness of night with a small smile brewing on his lips. It was wonderfully sweet to know that the people of Gotham really did love him, but it was a specific member of the population that had his attention in the wake of his landslide victory. _Priceless to two_. Two. Not the city. But two. Oswald and Ed were two. Could his enigmatic riddle-loving friend truly be attempting to say what he so desperately hoped?

'I made tea,' Ed's voice said behind him, quiet, but biting through the deafening silence and startling Oswald into a little jump. 'Sorry,' Ed apologised as Oswald turned around with a smile. 'I didn't mean to startle you.'

'Not at all, Ed,' Oswald beamed at him, accepting the cup of tea from him gratefully. 'I was just lost in thought, that's all.'

'You must be very happy,' Ed smiled, sipping his tea and moving to stand next to his friend. 'How does it feel to be most loved by all of Gotham?'

'Incredible,' Oswald smiled, looking sideways up at his friend. 'And it's all thanks to you, old friend. You're right, I never would have known.'

'You know, penguins are the most social of birds, and the most popular penguin in a colony could lead a group almost anywhere,' Ed offered after a beat of silence. 'You've made it, Oswald. You are the most popular in the flock.'

Oswald let out a small chuckle, amused by the odd facts his friend had rattling around in his head. He felt the smile settle back on his face as it occurred to him that Ed seemed to have quite the collection of penguin-related facts stored in his mind.

'Your hair is all mussed up,' Ed reached out to try and smooth the flyaway strands.

'Thankfully it's just you to see it. And thankfully you're here to fix it.'

'You know, penguins often exhibit elaborate preening behaviour amongst those closest to them,' Ed seemed to still have a plethora of penguin trivia at the ready.

Oswald turned to look at him and he knew his puzzlement was starting to show on his face. He was desperately terrified of what the answer could be to the question burning in his mind and yet… he _needed_ to know. 'Ed?'

'Yes?' Ed drained his cup of tea and set it down on the windowsill. He looked down at his friend, watching him as he seemed to struggle for words. This was something Ed had never seen before. Usually Oswald was a well-spoken, if not downright chatty little man. He had never seemed to struggle to say what was on his mind before.

'Your riddle,' Oswald said after a moment's thought. 'What did you mean by it?'

'You already solved the riddle,' Ed shrugged. 'The answer was love.'

'Yes but… from whom?' Oswald looked a mix of confused and impatient. Ed felt a smile began to play at his lips.

'That was in the riddle too,' Ed said quietly after a moment.

'You didn't mean the people of Gotham, did you?' Oswald accused. ' _Priceless to two_. Not priceless to the city. To two.'

' _Two_ ,' Ed repeated, using both index fingers to trace a heart in the air, as he had both times he delivered the riddle. 'You could say the answer was in the delivery. I thought this one could do with less subtlety. You know, penguins are known to trumpet loudly to attract attention from prospective mates.'

'You seem to know a lot of facts about penguins,' Oswald took a tiny step closer to his old friend, setting his own cup of tea down next to Ed's on the windowsill.

'It seemed to be useful information considering my… interests,' Ed blinked as Oswald took another, slightly bigger step closer. 'Incidentally, penguins are known to be monogamous in mating, many actually selecting same-sex partners with which to spend their lives.'

'I'll admit, your interest is more than flattering,' Oswald smiled up at him. 'And just how loud would this penguin need to trumpet for you to be lured?'

'You've trumpeted plenty loud enough to pull me closer already,' Ed reached out to stroke a pale cheek, brushing feathery black strands of hair out of the way before leaning down to press the lightest of kisses to Oswald's waiting lips. 'You, my fine-feathered friend, could be silent for the rest of your days and still I would follow.'

Ed looked down at Oswald, whose head was still tilted upward towards him, eyes closed, a smile, dangerously close to morphing into a grin, playing at his lips. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the crystalline blue eyes opened and Oswald looked up at him, a question burning in those eyes Ed loved so.

'Why did you stop?'

'So I could trumpet a little more,' Ed leaned in to whisper in Oswald's ear, spraying it with hot breath, causing a shiver to run down Oswald's spine. 'You are loved, little Penguin. By all of Gotham… but most of all by me.'

Oswald pulled Ed's lips back to his own, his heart soaring. He somehow felt all of Gotham could hate him and he would still be as happy, as long as he still had this. As the kiss continued, Oswald felt as if he could float ten feet off the ground in his elation. A tiny giggle escaped into Ed's mouth in his giddy weightlessness. Who said penguins couldn't fly?


End file.
